Apple WiFi iPad available for pre-order on March 12th. In store pickup on April 3rd. US Only initially.

Since the day Steve Jobsappeared on stage for the Apple Special Event 2010 to announce the iPad there has been a lot of buzz about it’s availability. Many rumor blogs suggested that there might be minor delays in production and that could possibly lead to shortage in the number of devices available at launch.

Today Apple has officially announced the pre-order, ship and Apple Store availability date, of the first iPad model to be released. This is the WiFi only version, and is initially only for the US market. The pre-order date is roughly two days after we reported that Apple Store staff are rumoured to be getting their hands on the devices for training. So that makes sense. The date you can pick up your ‘Jesus’ tablet in store, or have it delivered to your door has slipped slightly to the 3rd of April.

3G versions are supposed to be available in late April.

Apple originally stated that WiFi iPads would be available at the end of March, so they are not too far off their original ship date.

These dates are US only dates at the moment. So it should be noted that if you are outside the US the WiFi model will not be available to you until late April. But both WiFi and 3G versions should be available at the same time elsewhere though.

So which one are you getting? Anyone planning a pilgrimage to the US to get a ‘Jesus’ Tablet early? I did for a Newton, back in the day. So don’t be shy, let us know in the comments.